Toy



Oct. 12 1925.

G. W. FERGUSON TOY 2 Smeets-Sheet 1 Filed March 16. 1921 9 I l I n.. i@E0. 4MW fe m, /w ..5

Oct. l2 1926. 1,603,038

G. w. FERGUSON y TOY K Filed March 1e, 1921' 2 Smets-sheet z 65 3l 1 y72% 7J 74" [7N/67771.07@

George Wryl/SN- Fig. 6

Patented Oct. 12, 1926.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. FERGUSON, F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

Toy.

i Application filed March .15, 1921. Serial No. 452,801.

.My invention relates to toys and particu` lar-ly .to the type of toymounted on wheels and has for its object to provide ajointed liguremounted `on a plurality .of 'Wheels .adaptedto go through grotesquemotions as the lWheels are rotated, with ymeans for liniitingithemovement ofthe jointed members goftliefigure when the toyinoves into itsdifferent ositions.-

.Anot er objectyof the invention is to provide means for movementsofguiding and yariesting--certain `portions of the toy so as .to cause thetoy to have imovements characteristicto the object represented by thetoy.

A still further object of the invention is vto provide adjusting meansfor the relative ,positionsgofthe support-s for the toy` and the.arrestingmeans so as to v arythe motions of vthe toy lwhen inoperation.

'f to AIva ry .the distane between the. supports on, i

the .toy to give the.resultsdesired The full `objects and advantagesofsmy 1n-v lnthedrawings, illustratingV the applica-"pp tion of myinvention: i0 Y of the invention.

F ig. 2 is aperspective vieiv of the form,

of the invention, indicated inFigurel 'showing the toy in one of itsextreme positions.

Fig. 3 is a view similar toFigure 2 showing the toy in another of itsextreme,posi-` tions. d j d 4 is a plan view of a portion of ltheinvention shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 5.is a vienT similar to'Figure 1 of another form ofthe invention.

F ig. 6is aview similar toFigui-e 301 'the form of the invention shownin Fi 1re' 5,

Fig. 7. is a 'perspective vienT l,cilfianliill an' In carrying out myinvention Iprovide erprovide a frame j f-.ventfion Will appear inconnection with the Fig. l isa perspective A`vieiv of one form other,form of the invention similar to'that shown in Figures and 6. l l i KFig. 8 is a `plan view of a portion of the invention shown in Figure 7.v

Fig. 9 is a rear elevational vieiv of a portion of the invention shownin Figure 2.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 'I providefour Wheels, l0, 11, 12, and 13 Which have fastened to them axels 14 and15 mounted at the geometrical centers of said Wheels.` Theseaxelsarejprovided with crank portions ,16 and 17 `which extend substantiallythe entire'length ofthe axel. A frame comprising'four rods 1%9, 20, 21and 22 is journalled'on portions `18 rof vaxels 14.- and 15 vadjacentwheels 10, 11, 12 and '13 by means of journals-23 formed on the ends ofsaid rods bending said rods in the shape of an eye. Rods`19, 20, 21 and22 extend through a bar 24vpo`sitioned transversely of the frame and areslidably mounted in said bar and kept from moving 1n he samel by the`friction ,of the bar on said roc s. adjustment of .the length of theframe vcan `be obtained so t-hat-therelative kpositioning of the partsof the toy can be altered to suit the requirements as will be `laterexplained. Thetoy proper comprises a figure 25 in pivotal` `to i1;y'avec ande? four legs 2e, 29, and .31. These legs are beveledat their Apivoted ends `Where they engage the body of the ligure-25 so that saidlegs spread to- Wardsthe hoofs of the animal ivhen thepiv` ots 26 and 27are in place. Legs 28, 29,30 and `31 .are rotatably mounted upon thecranks 16 and 17 Which extend through said legs at the hoofs of theanimal. Upon the back ofthe donkey is mounted the figure of a manhavinga bodyyportion 32 anda'head 33 vformed integraltherevvith, jointed armmembers 34 and'35 andjointed leg members 36 and137 pivoted thereto. vArmvmembers 34 yare pivoted tothe'donkey at 38 at the hands of the man andleg members 37 are pivoted to the donkey. atr39 through the' heels ofthe leg. All of the joints in both the man Aand the donkey includingpivots '27 and 26 are made looseso that the donkey is xfree to move uponthe crank members 16 and 17 and both ythe donkey andthe man are adaptedto move By sliding these rods in the haran y @the `shape of a body of adonkey Whichhas ently explained, the donkey has no other support on thetrame and wheels ot the toy than through its legs and the crank members16 and 17. The device is adapted to be drawn about on the floor by meansot a string l0 tied to a looped draw bar L.ll :termed integral with therods 19 and 22. As the toy is drawn about on the floor, wheels 10, 11,12 and 12E are caused to rotate, revolving` within them the cranks 16and 17. As these cranks turn, legs 28, 29, Si() and 31 ot' the donkeyare caused to travel with them, which legs impart to the donkey greatvariety ot motions,

To limit the relative movement ot the Alegs ot the donkey in regard tothe body I provide pairs ot stops l2 and 43 secured to the body of theanimal in the proximity of the pivots .46 and 27 which are adapted toengage pins li/t provided on the ends ot each of the leg members Q, 29,and 31. These stops and pins serve a duplicate purpose, first inlimiting the movement ot the legs on the donkey to prevent the donkeyfrom collapsing or completely falling down, and secondly, in impartingto the body of the donkey a motion in the opposite direction when one ofthe pins lhits either of the stops l2 and 43. ln this way the donkey isgiven a very simple motion. As the toy is drawn along the i'loor and thelegs ot the donkey moved on cranks 16 and 17 the donkey is thrown inpositions varying between that shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure3, the said pin 44 and stops lr-2 and fl?) terminating this movement.

By observing the drawings it can be noticed that the two pairs of wheelstravel independently ot' each other so that the two cranks 16 and 17 betraveling at the saine distance 'from each other or may have their crankarms disposed in relatively dititercnt angles to one another. lln theevent that the two crank arms travel vthe same distance apart throughouttheir rotation, both sets o'l' legs simultaneously are movedsuccessfully torward, downward, rearward and upward which gives thedonkey and rider a galloping or jumping appearance. As the toy is drawnalong, through irregularities in contact ot the wheels on the flo-or anddue to irregular slippage ot the same the relative positioning ot thecranks varies. as soon as one of the cranks is in advance oit the otherthe legs are independently given their four motions which cause thedonkey to have a bucking or kicking` movement. When the cranks areoperating exactly 180 degrees apart the donkey moves substantiallystraight up and down while his legs travel simultaneously together ant.away troni each other so that the donkey has the appearance ot gallopingat a high rate ot speed. Slight variations in the relative angularpositions ot the crank arms 1.6 and 17 with one another produce severalvariations in the move-ments ot both ot donkey and the man as the toy isoperated. The man being loosely jointed by being pivoted to the donkeyat the two points 38 and 39 is able to raise up 'trom the back ot thedonkey and to descend again on the donkeys back as the body olf thedonkey is put through its various motions by the cranks. Two suchmotions shown in Figures 2 and 3 when the donkey is at two of itsextreme positions. Numerous other positions can also be taken by the manwhich give him a very animated appearance.

To further vary the movements of the 'a toy I provide a tl-shapedupright 453 which is slidably mounted in the bar 2li and which isadapted to engage the under portion ot the body 10 ot the donkeyanywhere along its surtacc at 46 between the legs Q8, 29, 30

and 31. rlhis upright quickly arrests the downward motions ot the donkeyin either its forward or rearward reciprocation which gives the donkey amovement similar to that ol a hinge or a sharp kick. T he same devicealso causes the body o't the donkey to oscillate on the point ot contactot said upright as a pivot, which, due to the momentum of the body tendsto rotate either ot the cranks 16 or 17 relative to each other iiiopposition to the friction of the wheels ot' the toy on the Hoor so thatthe relative positioning ot the cranks 16 and 17 is constantly beingchanged Without effort on the part oit the person operating the toy. ltcan hence be seen that the toy continuously passes through varyinggrotesque motions which are constantly being changed as the toy isoperated..

As before stated the rods or iranie memlbers 19, 20, 21 and 22 areslidably mounted in the bar 24. Then the traine is extended by pullingthese rods outwardly the donkey has shorter movements with the possibility of one of the sets ot legs remaining l stationary relative to thebody while the other pair is engaged in oscillating movement relative tothe same. By adjusting the upright lo in the bar the motions ot the toycan be still further changed. il'

ln the form of the invention shown in Figures 5 and 6, l provide a pairot wheels 17, 48, 49 and 50, lined to axels and 5:2 which have crankportions ofi and similar to the device shown in Figure fl. avels arejournaled in a traine member 53 formed of a single piece of wire bentwith eyes at 5l ttor journaling said axels 5l and 52 and ext-ending inthe Yform ot a loop, in advance ot the toy to serve as a draw bar towhich a string 55 may be attached by means ot which to draw the toy.rllhe ligure in this case is that ot a person havinga body 56 and legs57 and 58 pivoted to said body at 59 and arms 60 and 61 pivoted to i asthe toy travels along the floor.

said body at 62. Arms 60 andl are free to move relative to the body asthe same is put through various motions while the legs 57 and 58 areeach respectively `pivoted to the cranls53 and 54 -in the "form lof thelegs 57 and 58 and similarly formed with pins 625 fastened to the body56.

The operation of this device is similar to that shown in Figures -2 andE3. As the toy is drawn about on the floor by mcansof string the cranks53 and 54 impart to legs 5T and 58 motions'in conjunction with the stops64and 65 and the pin 653` which give the entire figure movements similarto that of `a. person ruiming and jumping.

lallienever cranks 53 and 54 change relative angular position themovements of this toy vary accordingly. 'When both cran-ks travelparallel the toy has a leapilrig motion, the body moving principally upand down. As he cranks vary in angular position relative to each otherthe ligure gets an oscillating motion back and forth in combination withthe alternate raising and lowering of the legs the arms and "6l swingingfreely y It Acan be clearly seen that the mot-ions through which the toyCanbe put are quit-e animated, and that the variety of gestures andposturesvare very numerous. y

ln Figures 7 and 8 I'have shown a combination of two such ltoys as shownin Figures 5 and 6 mounted on a single lframe 66, which frame carriesthree sets of wheels and aXels'GY. 68 and 69. figures and 7l mounted onthe axels 72, 7f3 and 74 of this device which figures are placed facingeach other as shown in Figure 7 and which havetwo of their legs 75 and 76 pivoted to the middleaxel 73. As this toy is'drawn about on the flooreach of the figures TO and 71 .pass through the same gestures. andmotions asthat shown in Figures 5 andl 6. The movementof these figurestowards each other and the free swing ingv of" the arms of figurestowards each other give the 'figures `the Aappearance -of a couple ofprize fighters. vIn vaddition to the reverse movements of the figurescaused by the pins 68 and stop 64 and 65 the figures are quicklythrnstaway' `from each other when they directly engage each other eitherthrough their heads or the arms of the same, thus adding other movementsto said fig ures not present with the toy shown in Figures 5 and 6.

The advantages of my invention are manifest. A toy is provided which iscapable of passing through a most varied course of movements. whichmovements are constantly changing as the toy is being op-.

erated. The toy may be made to resemble animated objects and themovements are such as are clearly characteristic of the objectrepresented. The toy can be made very I here show twoI pearance thateven when stationary the is highly attractive. The toy is alpassing`through some new motion or same ways

-antic' to the great amusement ofthe operator.

ln accordance with the patent statutes "I have described the principlesof operation of nry invention, together with the apparatuswhich l nowconsider to representthe best embodiment thereof, but lV desire to haveit vuinlerstood that the construction shown is only illustrative andthat the inventioncan be carried out by other 'means and applied to usesotherthan thoseabove set forth Within the scope of the following claims.

l claim:

l. A toy comprising 'a -frame member, a pair of axels journalled in saidframemember., cranks formed on said axels. a plurality of wheels securedto said axels, a ligure in the shape of an animal having a body and aplurality of legs pivoted thereto, said legs 4being pivoted tothe axelfor freely supporting said animal thereon independently of the frame,and means oooperating between lthe legspand bodyindependent of the framefor holding'thefigure upright.

2.k A toy coinprisingaframe member, a pair of axels journalled in saidframe member, cranks formed on said axels, `a plurality of wheelssecured to said axels7 a figure in the shape of an animal having a body.a plurality of legs pivoted' thereto,

said legs beingpivoted to the axel for freely supporting -said animalthereon independently of the frame, andmeans associated with said legsand body for holding `the animal in an upright position.

3. A Vtoy comprising a frame member, aV

pair of axels journalled in said frame member, cranks formed on saidaxels a plurality of wheels secured 4to said axels, a figure in theshape `of'an animal having a body, a plurality of legsfpivotedtheretmsaid 'legs being pivoted Vto the axel 'for 'freely sup`porting said animal thereon independently of the frame, and means forconfiningthe movement and of momentarily arresting said animal in itsmovements to alter the direction of travel of the same.

4. A toy comprising a frame member, a pair of axels journalled in saidframe member, cranks formed on said axels, a plurality of Wheels securedto said axels, a figure in the shape of an animal having a body portion,a plurality of legs pivoted thereto, said legs being pivoted to thecranks of said axels, a projection formed on each of said legs and stopsformed on said body portionl adapted to be engaged by the projection onsaid legs to assist in holding the ligure upright and to alter thedirection of movement ol the same.

5. A toy comprising a frame member, Wheels journalled in said framemember, a ligure having a body portion, legs pivoted to said bodyportion, said legs being excentrically connected with said Wheels, pairsof stops on said body adjacent each olf said legs and means on said legsadapted to be engaged by said stops to hold the ligure upright and tovary the motion of said ligure.

6. A toy comprising a pair of Wheels, axes secured to said Wheels havingcranks formed thereon, a trame journalled on said aXels, a ligurerepresenting an animated ol ject having a body portion, legs pivoted atone end to said body portion and to the axels at their other end, saidbody portion being placed above the lrame, a member supported on saidframe adapted to engage the underside of the body portion to change thedirection of movement of said body portion imparted to it by saidcranks, and means Yfor adjustably holding said member attaclied to saidframe.

7. A toy comprising pairs ol wheels, axels connected to said Wheels, al'ront traine member journaled on one el said axels and a rear framemember journaled on the other of said aXels, and means for slidablyholding said frame members in adjustable position relative to eachother,

8. A toy comprising pairs of Wheels, axels connected to said wheels andhaving cranks `formed on said axels, a front frame member journaled onthe other ot said axels, means for slidably holding said :trame membersrelative to each other, a draiv bar formed on the 'liront Yframe member,a ligure representing an animated object having a body portion, aplurality of legs pivoted to said body portion at one end and to saidcranks at their other end, said body being positioned above said framemembers.

9. A toy comprising pairs of Wheels, axels connected to said Wheels andhaving cranks formed on said axels, a front frame member journaled onone of said axels, a rear frame member j ournaled on the other of saidaXels, and means for slidably holding said frame members in relativepositions, a draw bar formed on the front frame member7 a ligurerepresenting an animated object having a body portion, a plurality ot'legs pivoted to said body portion at one end and to said cranks at theirother end, said body being positioned above said trame members, andmeans engaging portion of the body lor changing the direction of themotion imparted to the body through said cranks.

lO. A toy comprising a pair ol Wheels, axels secured to said Wheelshaving cranks formed thereon, a frame journaled on said axels, a ligurerepresenting an animated object having a body portion, legs pivoted atone end to said body portion and to jthe axels at their other end, saidbody portion being placed above the trame, a member supported on saidtrame adapted to engage the underside oit' the body portion to changethe direction ol' movenient olf said body portion imparted to it by saidcranks.

ll. A toy comprising a pair of longitudinal ''rame members, aXelsjournalled in said lrame members, a bar adjustably connecting saidYiframe members, Wheels supported on said ariela, a ligure mounted onsaid axels and a vertical upright adjustably positioned in said bar.

l2. A toy comprising a Yframe member,

`a pair of axels journalled in said frame member having cranks thereon,Wheels secured to said aXels, a ligure 1n the shape of an animal havinga. body portion, limbs pivoted at one end to said body and at theirlother end to said cranks for freely supporting said animal and anupright positioned belen7 the body of said animal 'for momentarilysupporting the same. y

13. A toy comprising a lraine member, a pair ot axels journalled in saidlrame mcmber having |cranks thereon, Wheels secured to said axels, aligure in the shape of anv animal having a body portion, limbs pivotedat one end to said body and at their other end to said cranks For freelysupporting said animal and an upright adj ustably positioned to saidframe,

In testimony Whereot I affix my signature.

GEORGE W. FERGUSON.

